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Showing results for found object. Search instead for found+object.
Synonyms

found object

American  

noun

  1. a natural or manufactured object that is perceived as being aesthetically satisfying and exhibited as such.


found object British  

noun

  1. another name for objet trouvé

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of found object

1955–60; translation of French objet trouvé

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“It’s a found object, but price-wise it’s the same as a sculpture,” he said, laughing again.

From New York Times • Jun. 9, 2023

Dwan looked at his work — minimal, found object assemblages that hung from the ceiling and emitted sounds — and offered Anastasi the third show at her New York space.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 17, 2022

Overhearing the occasional comment about what an abstract painting really looks like — or the sort of frustration a found object might stir — could do the art elite a bit of good.

From Washington Post • Sep. 29, 2021

Johns said he liked it because it allowed him to treat the design of the painting as a given, a found object, and then to do various painterly things to it.

From The New Yorker • Jul. 3, 2018

Most viewers will recall a key sculpture in the series that is accidentally bumped off its plinth and broken: The work is, unsurprisingly, called “Untitled,” and consists of exactly one found object, a brick.

From Salon • Jul. 23, 2017